


sleep

by moonlightrichie



Category: The Goldfinch (2019), The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt
Genre: But not too sad, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda?, M/M, Theo just wants to be close to Boris, i guess it's also a little sad, this thing is so short i have no idea what to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:00:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24172453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlightrichie/pseuds/moonlightrichie
Summary: All Theo needs to fall asleep is to feel safe.
Relationships: Theodore Decker/Boris Pavlikovsky
Comments: 5
Kudos: 119





	sleep

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Violetholly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violetholly/gifts).



> This is a tiny thing I wrote for Holly's birthday! Happy birthday my lovely, I love you!   
> Also, this is my first time ever writing Boreo, so I’m sorry if characterization or anything is off. I'm kinda nervous posting this actually hehe, so please be kind <3

Theo couldn't sleep.

He should have drifted off into nightmare land already, but instead he was stuck staring up at the ceiling. That still unfamiliar Las Vegas ceiling. Nothing like the ceiling back home in New York, its comforting corners and shape completely memorized in Theo's mind. Whenever he blinked, it was the New York ceiling he saw behind his eyelids, each time hoping that that was what he'd see when he opened his eyes again. But every time he did, he was left disappointed.

Angry tears filled his eyes, and he blinked them away quickly, wiping underneath his sniffling nose with a trembling finger.

Ignoring the temptation to check the time again, he turned to lie on his side. Looking at his alarm clock wouldn't make falling asleep any easier. He knew that even though he'd checked it what felt like hours ago, only a few minutes had passed since. Just past 3am.

He let himself look at Boris's sleeping form for a moment. Boris was sleeping heavily, his back to him, face not visible. But Theo didn't need to see it to know what it looked like. He knew Boris's face was relaxed, lips parted and long eyelashes resting on pale cheeks. Boris was breathing deeply, a soft snoring sound escaping him every once in a while, the familiar sound comforting to Theo's ears.

A heavy ache settled in Theo's chest, and he reached up to press a palm over his heart, hoping it would go away. But of course it didn't. It never did, no matter how much he tried. His body felt frozen cold on the inside, a sinking feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. Like a lost ship at the bottom of the ocean, doomed to spent its eternity down there in the dark.

Sinking. Into the darkness.

Theo longed to reach out and touch Boris, knowing that the touch would help to ease up the tenseness that was settled in his limbs. Maybe it would even help him sleep. His eyes bore into the sleeping form next to him, his entire body itching to scoot closer.

Boris was always great at calming him down. Whenever Theo would wake up crying from nightmares, drops of sweat on his forehead and hands shaking, Boris would wake up too. He would reach out to put an arm around Theo's waist, shushing him, comforting him, pulling him close.

And for a second Theo considered pretending to wake up from a bad dream, just so Boris would hug him and tell him that he was safe. Because Theo _needed_ to feel safe right now, even though it wasn't from the heavy pit of nightmares that he sometimes fell into. This time he needed to feel safe from the world that seemed to be crumbling around him. Safe in the arms of the only person that truly mattered to him in this place.

"Boris," he whispered, poking at his shoulder.

No response.

"Boris," he tried again, a bit louder this time.

Still no response. Boris was completely knocked out, and Theo didn't blame him. The evening they'd had was still hanging heavily inside Theo's brain too.

With a sigh, he realized that he didn't have to be _held_ to find comfort, as long as he got to be close to Boris. Reaching out he placed his own arm around Boris's waist, snuggling into his back and wrinkling the t-shirt. His messy hair tickled Theo's nose.

Already he could feel the ache in his chest loosening up a little. He breathed out, feeling a bit better, and moved even closer. Boris smelled of cigarettes.

After a second, Boris stirred. "Potter?" He raised his head to look over his shoulder before it fell back to their shared pillow.

"Yes."

"Is nightmare again?" he mumbled, voice thick with sleep.

Hesitating, Theo kept quiet. They'd never been affectionate like this outside of Theo's nightmares. He wasn't sure if he should lie or not.

Boris turned around before Theo had a chance to react. He was smiling tiredly, eyes gleaming in the darkness, as if saying he understood. Theo's arm had falling back slightly, his left palm placed on Boris's side, the t-shirt fabric clutched into his fist.

"I…" He didn't know what to say, swallowing thickly. It was silent for a moment as Boris studied his face.

Then Boris shook his head, unwashed hair hanging over his forehead. His eyes were still glazed over. "Is okay." Scooting closer, he placed Theo's arm more securely around his waist. His cheek pressed into Theo's shoulder. "I'm here. Sleep, Potter, shh. I'm here."

Slumping more into Theo's side, Boris soon fell back asleep without any effort. The weight of him was nice, and in an instant Theo felt more relaxed, despite his racing heart. The sinking feeling was slowly going away, being replaced by a quickening heartbeat, fueling his limbs into gear again, filling him up with some sort of light. How was it that his body was relaxed, yet tingling everywhere at the same time? Something like electricity coursed through his veins, and he couldn't help but smile slightly, letting himself melt into the soft mattress beneath him.

He was no longer at the bottom of the freezing cold ocean. Instead he felt warm, flushing from head to toe. He felt safe.

And with a last deep breath, Theo could finally sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, and please let me know what you think! Also, come be my friend on tumblr: moonlightrichie


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